International Long COVID Awareness Day Brings Awareness that "Long COVID" is Indistinguishable from Other Post-Virus Syndromes
Another known that has now become acceptable to talk about in the open
Long COVID may be no different to other post-viral syndromes
According to Australian research, which found that people who tested positive for COVID-19 a year ago, were no more likely to report moderate-to-severe functional limitations than people who had influenza.
Lead author, Queensland's Chief Health Officer, suggests it is time to stop using terms like ‘long COVID’ as it wrongly implies there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus.
The study examined 5,112 adults, aged 18 years and older, who had symptoms of a respiratory illness and underwent PCR testing between May and June of 2022, comprising those with PCR-confirmed infection for COVID-19 (2,399 adults) and those who were PCR negative for COVID-19 (2,713 adults: 995 influenza positive and 1,718 PCR negative for both but symptomatic with a respiratory illness).
Ongoing symptoms were reported by 21.4% of participants who had been COVID-19 positive when tested 12 weeks earlier and by 23.0% of those who had been influenza positive. A year later, 16% reported symptoms, with nearly 4% of respondents saying they suffered from moderate-to-severe impairment in their daily activities.
The analysis found no evidence that COVID-19 positive adults were more likely to have moderate-to-severe functional limitations a year after their diagnosis than symptomatic adults who were negative for COVID-19 (3.0% vs 4.1%).
Moreover, results were similar when compared with the 995 symptomatic adults who had influenza (3.0% vs 3.4%).
Interestingly, the analysis also found that those who were more likely to report moderate-to-severe functional impairment were female and those aged 50 years or older, as well as those who had symptoms of dizziness, muscle pain, shortness of breath, post-exertional malaise, and fatigue.
Also, it is interesting to note that this study was undertaken in a highly ‘vaccinated’ population so it is difficult to discern the contribution that the mRNA jabs may have had on the development of “long COVID”.
On 15th March 2023, the first International Long COVID Awareness Day was declared.
In 2023 it was estimated that at least 65 million people worldwide continued to suffer from “long COVID”. That number is higher now, with data from the United States Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey indicating that about 1 in 4 people — approximately 27,831,176 Americans — who have had COVID-19 are subjected to “long COVID”.
“Long COVID” is classified as a multi-systemic disease, damaging organs, neurological, GI, and vascular systems alongside AIDS-like immune dysregulation with research pointing to SARS-CoV-2 viral persistence as the leading cause.
While most people with “long COVID” have evidence of infection or COVID-19 illness, in some cases, a person with “long COVID” may not have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 or known they were infected.
According to the CDC, there is no test that determines if the symptoms or condition is due to COVID-19.
People with “Long COVID” can have a wide range of symptoms that can last weeks, months, or even years after infection. “Long COVID” is characterized by a cluster of symptoms that are ill-defined and does not affect everyone the same way. Commonly reported symptoms include: fatigue, post-exertional malaise, fever, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest pain and headache.
NOTE: This list of symptoms seem oddly familiar to what was characterized as the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, called COVID-19).
Source: http://www.phsa.ca/health-info/post-covid-19-care-recovery
Post viral syndrome has long been known as chronic fatigue syndrome
Post viral syndrome has long been known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The first definition of CFS was published in 1988, and although the cause of the illness remains largely unknown, up to 75 percent of ME/CFS cases can be traced to a viral infection.
I prepared this flier for Ethical Science Council (#takescienceback) in July 2022. It’s interesting to see things coming to light now that I had said when they were happening and was being vilified for saying them.
ME/CFS is a complex condition affecting 1 million to 2.5 million people in the United States. It is characterized by a cluster of symptoms, including , disrupted and unrefreshing sleep, difficulty thinking (commonly called “brain fog”), abnormalities of the autonomic nervous system and post-exertional malaise — a flare-up of multiple symptoms following physical or cognitive exertion.
Gerrard said “long COVID” may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of the high number of people infected with COVID-19 within a short period of time, rather than the severity of “long COVID” symptoms.
The substantial difference in the incidence of infection with a pandemic virus such as SARS-CoV-2 and an endemic virus such as seasonal influenza may make it appear that post viral syndromes are unusually common with the novel pathogen, as cases in the community may be high without individual risk being greater.
“I want to make it clear that the symptoms that some patients described after having Covid-19 are real, and we believe they are real. What we are saying is that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in Covid-19 than it is with other respiratory viruses, and that to use this term ‘long Covid’ is misleading and I believe harmful.”
Critics of the study say it is observational and based on reported symptoms with no physiological or detailed functional follow-up data. Therefore, without laboratory pathophysiological assessment of individual patients, it is impossible to say that “long COVID” is indistinguishable from flu-related or any other post-viral syndrome.
In response, the NIH launched a long COVID clinical trial program, RECOVER, in July 2023, the largest cohort study for a post-infection illness. The program received a significant amount of funding, with a $1.15 billion initial investment from Congress in 2021. In 2024, the NIH allocated an additional $515 million over the next four years.
So now scientists and clinicians can get money to study this phenomenon and hopefully find a way to help all these people that are still suffering. Perhaps pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer can provide a solution to this also (*sarcasm*).
Disclaimer: This is not meant to invalidate or diminish the impact or suffering people may be experiencing from having had COVID-19 or chronic fatigue syndrome.